Hungary registered the second-largest budget deficit relative to GDP among the European Union member states last year, as revealed in a report by Eurostat.

According to the report, the deficit in the eurozone decreased to 3.6% in 2023 from the previous year's 3.7%, whereas, across the European Union as a whole, it rose from 3.4% to 3.5%.

Last year, with the exceptions of Cyprus, Denmark (both at +3.1%), Ireland (+1.7%), and Portugal (+1.2%), all member states reported deficits. The largest deficits were recorded in Italy (-7.4%), Hungary (-6.7%), and Romania (-6.6%).

The ratio of public debt to GDP in the eurozone decreased from 90.8% at the end of 2022 to 88.6% by the end of 2023. In the EU, this ratio reduced from 83.4% to 81.7%.

By the end of 2023, the countries with the lowest ratios of public debt to GDP were Estonia (19.6%), Bulgaria (23.1%), Luxembourg (25.7%), Denmark (29.3%), Sweden (31.2%), and Lithuania (38.3%). The highest debt ratios were observed in Greece (161.9%), Italy (137.3%), France (110.6%), Spain (107.7%), and Belgium (105.2%). Hungary's public debt decreased from 74.1% to 73.5%.

Hungary's budget is once again under pressure this year, as the central government subsystem closed with a deficit of 2,321.4 billion forints by the end of March, reaching 92.8% of the deficit planned for the entire year. Due to the high deficit, Finance Minister Mihály Varga announced a 675 billion forint austerity package at the latest government press conference.